Eastern Philosophical Rituals Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Eastern Philosophical Rituals Answer: The philosophical knowledge of the humans has always contained, in itself, some sort of religious connection and have tried to give the meaning of life and interpret the actions of humans that have logical reasons and explanations. Modern science often tries to look at philosophy as a metaphysical counterpart of psychology. The ancient philosophical schools have formed the foregrounds for every contemporary debates and the Eastern philosophical views have had significant and lasting impacts for thousands of years (Jung). Philosophical teachings that had steam from India, China and Japan are some of the most important ones to be ever recorded in history and have many different interpretations of them by a huge number of philosophers. The rituals of the different religions of these regions are also credited with philosophical contents and are sources of many scholarly discussions over the millennia. In this paper, three different ritual practices from the Asian continent is taken as ex amples and are looked at from three different perspectives using three different philosophical approaches that are aimed to understand the rituals from alternate viewpoints (Pearson and Schunke) The selected rituals The Indian ritual that is going to looked into in the paper is the Yajna. The Chinese ritual that has been selected to be viewed in this paper is the burial rituals of a person and the different ways that the family of the deceased are supposed to take when performing the ritual. The Japanese ritual that has been identified as the topic to be discussed is the ancient lantern festival or Obon. These three rituals are used as the basic foregrounds for facilitating the different philosophical approaches to understand the sanctity and logical reasons for the rituals (Zemmour and Ballet). The three selected Asian countries have some of the oldest religions in the world and their religious ritual practices are among the oldest surviving practices that have been modified though the ages and different other cultural and religious influences have changed the original practices, however, the rituals themselves have not varied widely even so. Brief description of the three aproaches To delve into these three ritual practices, three modes of approaches will be used that are supposed to offer insight about the rituals and interpret them through different lenses using alternate perspectives. A religionist approach is evident about its purpose: it uses religion as the mode of analyses and tries to understand the practices from a very simplistic religious aspect and try to match the practice with the religion so that the practice can be validated through religion (Belzen). However, a religionist approach to any ancient rituals may come off as misled or hold a basic fallacy, as the ancient religions were not always the same as the modern day religions and the advent of the new religions have all significantly changed the requirements and methods of the rituals that have existed even long before the established religions of the modern age. Reductionism is mostly the practice of taking one particular phenomenon and then trying to explain the same using another set of ph enomena. A reductionist believes that any theory or set of events can be reduced to some other theory or set of events. For my own personal approach, I shall be taking on not a very philosophical approach, but shall rather use a method that is more reliant on logic and rationality to understand the rituals and give details about what are the reasons for them to be followed or observed (Jung). A religionist approach to the Indian ritual of Yajna The religionists maintain that all religions can be described as sui generis, a Latin proverb that literally translates to in a class by itself. According to their belief, the reason for religion to be born was to facilitate the human connection with something, or someone, which is not seen by the naked eye and the humans have to enhance their senses and the inner eye to feel the entity (Smith). In most often cases, these entities are said to be existing in other dimensions that are not felt by the humans on regular basis. This very connection is often viewed as something sacred or may be recognized as the existence of the cosmic forces that directly interact with the humans throughout their course of life and death. To apply this approach to the Indian ritual of Yajna does, somewhat, make sense, as the whole purpose of Yajna (or Yagna) or Home is to purify the soul and drive away the evil forces from the surroundings of a person so that the connection with the higher entities can be established more strongly. The religionist connections are usually advocates of realization of the universal laws that are related to the ways through which the connections between the human beings and the cosmos are established. Scientific researches mostly ignore and often overlook these connections as a religious sense of inquiry is conserved within the human-cosmic interactions. Rituals come in this exact area where the religionists claim that the practices to establish these connections are sacred and have to be done with much care and belief. Religionists emphasize on the sanctity aspect of religion as they believe that being sacred is something that is irreducible and this is the fundamental of any religion (Peters). Religious rituals can be viewed as research methods that are supposed to uncover the true meaning of something that is sacred. The word Yajna translate, literally. To devotion, sacrifice, worship and offering. The ritual is done with fire and mantras and a pit o f sacred fire is used as the medium to make these offerings. The performing of yajna has been described in the ancient Vedic texts, in the Yajurveda and Brahmanas. A yajna holds a high, and often supreme, position in the Hindu culture and religion. Though it has been modified by other religious and regional cultural differences, the basic premise of it has remained the same as well as the ideologies behind it. Hinduism believes that fire is the supremely sacred entity and something which purifies everything (Lucas). The powers of fire and its spiritual powers can be essentially religionist in its views and no ritual or offering can be complete without fire. Hinduism has always had a close affinity with destruction, Shiva being one of the three major Gods, and the embodiment of wrath and destruction. Hinduism is a staunch believer in the circle of life and rebirth. Hence destruction is seen as merely a gateway through which something new is born again. Fire almost acts a catalyst tha t induces this destruction process; or as a cleansing agent that burns away the impurities from everything that is earthly and makes sure they are only in their purest forms so that they can be offered to the Gods without the fear of giving them anything with flaws or impurity. There are over four hundred forms of yajnas described in the Vedas, with twenty-one of them being deemed as compulsory and which must be done by any true Hindu, if a path of righteousness is to be followed (Lucas). From a religionists aspect, yajna would seem to be an absolutely valid way of making the connection with the cosmos as fire is inherently been viewed as something utterly pure. From the dawn of civilization, fire has been a major source of human development and evolution (Segal). A reductionist approach to the Chinese funeral rituals While religionists talk about the ultimate sacred aspect of religion and its inclusion in any ritual, the reductionists reject the notion and voice their opinion denying the fact that religion is in fact sui generis. They say that religion has no unique or distinct features that would be making it fall in a class of its own (McCauley). They feel that nothing can be inherently religious and argue that religion is something that was created by the humans to aid them in their daily lives and also to make sure some group of the society could be subdued by another who claimed the rights of performing of the religious rituals (Smith). Reductionists believe that religion can efficiently be described by analyzing the social, political, economic and psychological aspects of the human society and no single aspect can effectively explain the whole story. A great deal of the religious data is examined to conduct any form of reductionist research that are available from the society within which t he religion operates. The Chinese funeral rituals are ancient and in most cases predate the modern day religions that are popular and widespread in the country (Demmrich, Wolfradt, and Domsgen). Upon the death of a family member, the deceased person is made to sit in a sitting position to help the soul in the process of leaving the body. The friends and family members of the dead person shave their heads, clip their nails and wash their bodies after the funeral rites have been executed. The people who are still breathing then commence a ritual that aims to call the soul of the dead person back so that they can sure of the soul being released. This ancient ritual may seem like trying to create a connection with the dead by approaching the soul to come back, but a reductionist method can help to understand that this only a way of life where people leave behind something that is gone and is now no longer among us, so that they can move ahead without any backward pull. The person who is dead is released and the people around him all cleanse themselves marking a new beginning and a new initiative to go on with life. This does seem an accurate way of looking into the ritual, because even in the modern society people are always trying to get a fresh start after some tragedy has befallen them. Religion is something that was established to facilitate the humans with their own lives and this ritual is one the best examples as to why religion is more like an earthly way of doing things rather than trying to get closer to the divine. Personal philosophical approach to the Japanese Obon Japan has mostly two religions: Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is as old as the country and the culture itself, while the later was imported from the Orient mainland during the 6th century. Even though religion is not a big part of the daily lives of the Japanese people, some ancient rituals have become synonymous with the Japanese culture and are celebrated throughout the year with various festivals that still have some pagan traits in them (Smith). As a personal view on religion, a stereoscopic approach h can be beneficial as it leaves a lot of room for different interpretations and methods that can be adopted to explain the mechanics of religion. Seeing things through a binocular helps not only seeing things far off with more detail, but also helps to preserve the three dimensional stereoscopic view that people normally have. The ancient lantern festival of Japan is a ritual and a festival that makes the people have a chance at connecting with their ancestors who have passed away (Sm ith). It is believed that the departed souls come back to the mortal world during Obon and can find their heirs if the living people signal them with lights. This is a beautiful and often enchanting idea that tries to help people feel like they are surrounded by their ancestors, even if that is for a momentary period. Seeing this from a distant viewpoint, the ritual may be deciphered as something that is set to give humans a moral support and assure them that they are being watched over by their families, even the ones who are not living amongst them anymore. This may well be a planned placebo that would give humans the moral high to keep going even in times of troubles to make them believe that they cannot be harmed by evil forces as they are being protected by their own families who may not be seen but are certainly there, hovering around them (Spencer). The different views and approaches to religion and religious rituals can be highly varying in nature and may help a person to have different interpretations on the same. Religion is a debated area that needs a lot of explanations to firmly establish its grounds and make sure that it is accepted by everyone. However, a number of philosophical methods themselves often deny its validity and discard it as a creation of humans and not any sort of process to reach out to the cosmic entities. References Belzen, Jacob A. "Religion and Religiosity as Cultural Phenomena: From Ontological Reductionism to Acknowledgment of Plurality."Psychology as the Science of Human Being. Springer International Publishing, 2016. 193-208. Demmrich, Sarah, Uwe Wolfradt, and Michael Domsgen. "Dissociation in religion and spirituality: God images and religious rituals in the context of dissociative experiences among a sample of German adults."Journal of Empirical Theology26.2 (2013): 229-241. Jung, Carl Gustav.Psychology and Religion Volume 11: West and East. Routledge, 2014. Lucas, Phillip Charles. "Homo ritualis: Hindu ritual and its significance for ritual theory, by Axel Michaels, New York, Oxford University Press, 2016, xix372 pp., US $99.00 (hardback), ISBN 978 0 1902 6262 4." (2017): 1-4. McCauley, Robert. "Explanatory pluralism and the cognitive science of religion."Mental Culture: Classical Social Theory and the Cognitive Science of Religion(2016): 11. Pearson, Christopher H., and Matthew P. Schunke. "In this essay, we set out to survey and critically assess various attitudes and understandings of reductionism as it appears in discussions regarding the scientific study of religion. Our objective in the essay is twofold. First, we articulate what we will refer to as three meta-interpretativeframeworks, which summarize the distinct positions one can witness in response to the explanations coming..."Sophia54.1 (2015): 111-113. Peters, T. "Universal Humanity, Religious Particularity, and Scientific Reductionism."On Human Nature. 2017. 685-694. Segal, Robert Alan. "Reductionism/anti-reductionism."Vocabulary for the Study of Religion. Brill, 2015. Smith, Brent A. "Transforming discourse: Interdisciplinary critique, the university, and the academic study of religion."Cogent Arts Humanities3.1 (2016): 1128318. Smith, Christian.Disruptive religion: The force of faith in social movement activism. Routledge, 2014. Spencer, Sidney.Mysticism in world religion. Penguin Books Limited (1963), 2016. Zemmour, Rmi, and Jrme Ballet. "Religion and Market: From Economic Reductionism to a Consideration of the Role of Beliefs."Revue Franaise de Socio-conomie2 (2016): 143-161.

Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis Essay Essay Example

Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis Essay Paper It has been rare in American history for presidents and vice-presidents non to acquire along. but it has happened on a few occasions: Adams and Jefferson. Kennedy and Johnson. and Eisenhower and Nixon are a few illustrations ( Jackson vs. Calhoun-Part 1 1 ) . However. the most controversial relationship between president and his helper was between Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun. Their dissensions began really early on in Jackson’s disposal. and lasted until after the declaration of the Nullification Crisis. Nullification is the refusal of a province to acknowledge a federal jurisprudence within its boundaries and deem that jurisprudence unconstitutional. In this instance. South Carolina. led by John C. Calhoun. refused to acknowledge the protective duties in 1828. and 1832. stating that they benefited the North and injured the South. We will write a custom essay sample on Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Jackson vs. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer At this point in clip. the American system of authorities was reasonably new and the battle between province and federal power was in full swing. Towards the terminal of the crisis. Calhoun went so far as to endanger to splinter from the Union to demo Jackson and the remainder of America that single province authoritiess were so powerful. When the wrangle had reached its extremum. Jackson had had plenty and decided it was clip to set an terminal to the crisis. The actions and determinations made by President Andrew Jackson in respects to John C. Calhoun and the Nullification Crisis non merely enabled the Union to stay together. but proved the power of the federal authorities. Before reexamining Jackson’s actions during the Nullification Crisis it is of import to understand where the dissensions between the two work forces originated. In 1829. merely shortly before Jackson was inaugurated. John Eaton. a friend and shortly to be secretary of war under Jackson. married the widow and non-reputable Peggy O’Neale Timberlake. Because Timberlake was now the married woman of a adult male in office. the other adult females would hold to accept her as an equal. which they were non happy about. Jackson. nevertheless. refused to believe that the adult females were justified in their behaviour. for he considered Peggy to be â€Å"chaste as a virgin† ( Barzman 56 ) . After Jackson ordered the married womans of all of his associates to see Mrs. Eaton as a societal equal. they all complied except for one ; Floride Calhoun. the married woman of John C. Calhoun. Calhoun subsequently claimed to Jackson he could non ( or would non ) change the head of his strong willed married woman. This enraged the freshly elected President and began the disruptive nature of the two men’s relationship. The chief facet which fueled their hapless relationship was their differences in political sentiments. Although both work forces were from similar parts of the state and both were dedicated to the public assistance of their place provinces. they disagreed on one really of import country. Jackson was a patriot. who believed strongly in continuing the Union and puting federal power over that of the single provinces. Calhoun. on the other manus. was precisely the antonym. Although anterior to 1830. he had been a patriot. Calhoun was now an utmost states’ rights advocator ( Barzman 56 ) . This colossal difference in political doctrine set the scene for the most of import statement between president and vice-president and foreshadows Calhoun’s programs for South Carolina. Calhoun had been garnering his information and explicating his thoughts for the hereafter of South Carolina for rather some clip. waiting for the perfect chance to uncover his maestro program. He wanted to declare nullification because his place province of South Carolina was economically down. fearful about the hereafter of bondage. and thought the new duties supported the North at the disbursal of the South ( The Nullification 1 ) . Jackson had an thought that Calhoun was be aftering something extremist so at the Jefferson Day Dinner on April 30. 1830. he stated that â€Å"Our Union–it must be preserved† . To this Calhoun replied. â€Å"The Union. Next to our autonomies. most dear† ( Barzman 58 ) . After publically declaring his dedication to South Carolina before the Union. Calhoun resigned the vice-presidential term and served in the South Carolina Senate. Less than two old ages subsequently. on April 24. 1832. Calhoun sent the South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification to Jackson. in which he declared. â€Å"The people of the province of South Carolina declare the responsibilities imposed by said Acts of the Apostless. and all judicial proceedings which shall be afterlife had in affirmance thereof. are and shall be void and null. We do farther declare that we will non subject to the application of force on the portion of the Federal Government† ( Hamilton 1 ) . Jackson. appalled by this direct menace to the Union and the Federal Government. was determined to set Calhoun in his topographic point and make anything he could to continue the Union. Although Calhoun had stated in his Regulation that South Carolina would non react to any forceful Acts of the Apostless by the authorities to try to acquire Calhoun to endorse down. Jackson found a manner to outwit his opposition. Jackson had congress base on balls a measure in 1833. â€Å"which allowed him to utilize soldiers to implement the duty measures† ( Nullification Crisis 1 ) . After the Force Bill was passed. Jackson sent several war vessels and 100s of soldiers to Charleston to implement the Torahs of the authorities. Some people argue that what Jackson did was incorrectly because based on the fundamental law. Calhoun had the right to declare Nullification for South Carolina. However. what Jackson did was besides constitutional and enabled the United States of America to stay as one. Had Jackson non passed the Force Bill instantly after South Carolina’s Ordinance was received. Calhoun’s strategy may hold succeeded and South Carolina would hold seceded from the Union. turn outing that the Federal Government truly did non hold any power over that of the single province. After the footings of the Force Bill were set into topographic point. Calhoun began to recognize the problem he had gotten himself into and wanted to happen a dignified manner to deliver himself and his place province. At first Calhoun attempted to happen other provinces willing to back up and fall in his cause. but no other Southern provinces seemed to hold with his theory of nullification. In order to decide the issue. Calhoun went to Henry Clay. the â€Å"Great Compromiser† . for aid. Towards the terminal of 1833. Clay was able to outline a via media which â€Å"pacified South Carolina while leting the Federal authorities to stand firm† ( The Nullification 2 ) . This dialogue bit by bit reduced the duties over a period of 10 old ages until they returned down to the degree which had existed in 1816. Jackson and Calhoun both signed the via media and the crisis ended without bloodshed. Many people argue that it was due to the negociating accomplishments of Henry Clay. non Jackson. which enabled the Union to stay in tact. However. had Jackson non passed the Force Bill ab initio. Calhoun neer would hold been pressured into seeking out Clay for aid. With the decision of the Nullification Crisis its significance to the growing of the American authorities became evident. By Jackson get the better ofing Calhoun. and basically get the better ofing the statement of states’ rights advocators. he accomplished two of import things. His first achievement was that he had â€Å"proved the power of the Federal Government to implement Torahs. even when provinces disagree with them† ( Jackson vs. Calhoun – Part 2 2 ) . This non merely gave the American people more assurance in the Federal Government. but made them get down to recognize that holding province authoritiess stronger than the Federal authorities would non be good to the state. Jackson’s 2nd achievement was that he enabled the Union to stay integral. He had postponed any bloodshed over the issue of states’ rights – but merely for 30 old ages. Had Calhoun’s wants been fulfilled. the Union may hold fallen apart and his place province of South Carolina would hold become a powerful autonomous district. The difference in political doctrine between Andrew Jackson and John C. Calhoun was the root of their disruptive relationship. which began early on in their executive life together. The confrontational nature of their relationship led America into the Nullification Crisis during which Calhoun put the public assistance of his place province above that of the brotherhood. seeking to splinter and demo the power of province authorities. Jackson would non hold provinces overmastering the authorities. and passed the Force Bill leting him to utilize the Federal Army and Navy to acquire South Carolina to obey the Torahs the Federal Government had made. State Government and Calhoun lost their conflict and the Federal Government proved its powers. Although he was non able to wipe out the job of states’ rights. were it non for Jackson’s intelligent determinations during the Nullification Crisis. the United States may non hold existed. as a individual brotherhood. as it does today.

All My Sons2 essays

All My Sons2 essays All My Sons, a play by Arthur Miller, tells predominantly of the story of the Kellers. This play takes place after World War II, in the year 1947. It is a drama of actions and consequences and morality. This theme of actions and consequences is shown after Joe Keller ships out defective engine parts, which ultimately ends in the death of many pilots including that of his own son, Larry Keller, who kills himself in shame of his father s actions. Joe Keller had two sons, Chris and Larry, who is dead. Chris and his father, Joe, have opposing morals and viewpoints on many of the issues that govern their lives, primarily the issue of the shipment of the defective engine parts. Chriss criticism of Joe and his morals in juxtaposition to his own produces a revelation of Chriss true character and his character flaws. Chriss main criticisms of Joe, his father, chiefly deals with the shipment of the defective engine parts. Joe plays a major role in this play. He is shown as the antagonist, the one who through his bad decisions, ends up killing many innocent pilots who were only defending their country. In All My Sons, Miller complicates the story in that the father becomes flawed morally to such an extent that the outside forces function as reflections or testimonies of the essential inner weakness. (Martin, 9) As Yorks shows in his essay, through Joes loyalty to his business and his family, Joe betrays the larger loyalties of the global conflict [World War II] (21) by shipping out defective engine parts. Joe tries to defend his actions by saying, Who worked for nothin in that war? When they work for nothin, Ill work for nothin...its dollars and cents, nickels and dimes; war and peace, its nickels and dimes, whats clean? Half the Goddamn country is gotta go if I go! (Miller, 67) Joe claims to Chris that almost all the businesses inv...

Demonstration of the Value of Health, Safety and Environmental Essay

Demonstration of the Value of Health, Safety and Environmental Programs in Corporate Settings - Essay Example 75 million working days are lost because of on-job-hazards. $50 billion are given as compensation for injuries and deaths in organizations. $50 billion is spent on indirect costs like replacement, training and so on (Bohlander, 2004). On average $23,000 per serious accident- is the cost incurred by an employer in U.S.A. When a boiler explosion killed 6 workers at Ford's Rouge Power Plant, Ford was fined $1.5 million and directed to spend $6million on safety measures. The staggering number of work-related accidents is alarming. 6,026 U.S workers died recently in workplace incidents at work and 6.2 million suffered from workplace injuries and many go unreported. In 2004, 5,703 fatalities have been reported of which 1004 were due to contact with equipments,815 because of falls, 459 due to exposure to harmful substances and 159 due to fire and explosions. Organizations should ensure a safe work environment which protects employees from physical hazards, unhealthy situations and violence from other personal. This can be achieved by Safety and Health Programmes which strives to preserve the physical and emotional well-being of the employees. This is important because employees are the Human Resources of an organization who contribute towards organizational success. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was passed in 1970 to assure so far as possible every working woman and man in the Nation safe and healthy working conditions and to preserve human resources. The Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970 created (OSHA) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the Department of labour. The importance of such laws can be well documented by the statistical survey of Occupational hazards. In 2000, 5.7 million injuries were reported in private sector alone. 5,915 fatalities were reported in 2000 alone due to industrial injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Act laws cover all the employers and their employees except a few federal governments, or states or political sub-divisions of a state. However, even in such cases, each federal agency is required to establish a Safety and Health program monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. One of the key responsibilities of the Occupational Safety and Health administration has been the development of mandatory job safety and health standards, enforce these standards and monitor them. These standards have been classified into four categories. 1. General Industry 2. Maritime 3. Construction and 4. Agriculture. These standards cover the workplace, machinery, material, power sources, processing, protective measures, first aid and administrative requirements. The 'Federal Register' is the main source of information on proposed, adapted, amended and deleted OSHA standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has the power to set standards on its own account or on petition from other parties, namely, The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Other bodies like state and local governments, nationality recognized standards organization, employer or labour representative can also initiate standard setting. The Secretary of labour is the person authorized by OSHA to conduct inspections of workplaces, to

Choose any topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Choose any topic - Essay Example The Athenians had strong perceptions and assumptions of the status quo. Aristophanes in the play, therefore, means that there was need for change of the status quo. The sophists acted and talked in a manner that made others feel rejected and of little knowledge about philosophy. It is in this respect that Aristophanes details this as the main point through the whole play. Interestingly, he does this through satire and a little bit of comedy. This paper seeks to review the play by mentioning how the main them is projected and how Aristophanes developed a different type of play from his fellow classical writers. In the play, Aristophanes introduces the topic of a new type of education from the old style procedures. He criticizes the already existing reforms in the traditional sophist way of life. The play therefore presents itself as a satirical comedy that analyzes the philosophies and ideas of the sophists in a funny way. Aristophanes describes Socrates as the leading figure in this existing sophist movement. Socrates is known to have taken after Plato in his teachings. Although this play was surely for comedy purposes, it gives a clear critique of Socrates accounts as a synchronization of Plato’s work. The play, however, cannot be used a historical account of understanding Socrates and Plato’s work on philosophy. The play also gives Socrates a different title as the corrupter of the youths among the Athenians. In the play, Aristophanes details a life of a father and son who recently accrued too much date due to the son’s obsession with a new hobby of horseracing. Aristophanes discusses the unjust argument as a trick taught in school by the sophists. The son studies in a school, which Aristophanes describes it as â€Å"thinkery† (Aristophanes & Peter 62). In literary discussion, Aristophanes uses a style of persuasion that leads a reader into a different perspective even though there might be strong morals

Impact of FDI on Host Country

Impact of FDI on Host Country ABSTRACT This project critically examines the negative effects that FDI poses to the host economy. The impact of FDI on the host economy can be understood with the help of The Standard Theory of International Trade and The Theory of Industrial Organisation. FDI has both positive and negative impacts on the host-country. FDI has an adverse effect on the host countrys economy, environment, domestic firms, political environment, labour market and trade balance. Through this project, it is concluded that the government policies should be such that they exploit the benefits of FDI completely in order to overrule its drawbacks. INTRODUCTION There is an increasing acknowledgment to recognize the forces of economic globalization which first requires looking at Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by multinational corporations (MNCs): that is, when a firm based in one country locates or acquires production facilities in other countries. (Blonigen, 2006). Over the past decade Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has grown noticeably as a major form of international capital transfer. Between 1980 and 1990, world flows of FDI- defined as cross-border expenditures to acquire or expand corporate control of productive assets have approximately grown three times (Froot, 1993). â€Å"FDI has turned out to be a major form of net international borrowing for Japan and the United States, the worlds largest international lender and borrower respectively† (Froot, 1993, pp. 1). The most introspective effect of FDI has been seen in developing countries, wherein annual Foreign Direct Investment flows have increased from an average of less than $10 billion in the 1970s to an annual average of $208 billion in 1999 (Source: UNCTAD). A large portion of global FDI is driven by mergers and acquisitions and internationalization of production in a range of industries (Graham and Spaulding, 2005). Despite the noticeable importance of FDI and MNCs in the world economy, research on the factors that decide FDI patterns and the impact of MNCs on parent and host countries is in its early stages. The most significant general questions are: what factors determine where FDI occurs, and what impacts do those MNC operations have on the parent and host economies? This report mainly analyses the negative impact of FDIs on host economies. FORIEGN DIRECT INVESTMENT â€Å"Foreign Direct Investment reflects the objective of obtaining a lasting interest by a resident entity in one economy (â€Å"direct investor†) in an entity resident in an economy other than that of the investor (â€Å"direct investment enterprise†)† (OECD). In other words, it is a direct investment made by a corporation in a commercial venture in another country. What separates FDI from portfolio investment is the control over the investment (Gillies, 2005). In case of FDI at least 10 percent of the voting rights must be held by the foreign investing company (Daniels et al., 2004). The difference between FDI and other ventures in foreign countries is mainly that the new venture operates completely outside the economy of the companys home country. The main motivators behind FDI are resource acquisition, sales expansion and risk minimisation. Besides this governments may also encourage FDIs due to various political motives (Daniels et al., 2004). TYPES OF FDI Foreign Direct Investment can be classified into three broad categories on the basis of direction, target or motives. On the basis of direction FDI can be classified into Inward or Outward FDI. When foreign capital is invested in local resources, it is referred to as Inward FDI, on the other hand when investments are made by local firms in foreign resources it is referred to as Outward FDI. Outward FDI is also known as â€Å"direct investment abroad† and is always backed by government support in case of any risks. On the basis of target FDI can be classified into Greenfield Investments, mergers and acquisition, horizontal and vertical FDI. Greenfield Investment refers to direct investment in new arenas or the development of existing amenities. This leads to creation of production capacity, employment opportunities, transfer of technology and expertise as well as linking of the host economy to the global marketplace. Mergers and acquisition are a major kind of FDI whereby there is a transfer of existing resources from local businesses to foreign businesses. Cross border mergers take place when the management of resources and business operations is relocated from a local company to a foreign company, with the local organisation becoming an associate to the foreign organisation. Acquisitions take place when the foreign company takes over a domestic company, and establishes itself as the new owner of the domestic company. Horizontal FDI refers to an investment made by a foreign company in the same industry in which it operates in its home country. Vertical FDI can be classified further into backward and forward vertical FDI. Backward Vertical FDI occurs when a domestic firm is provided input by a foreign firm in order to aid its production process whereas Forward Vertical FDI occurs when the output of a domestic firm is sold by an industry abroad it is known as forward vertical FDI. Lastly on the basis of motives, FDI can be classified into four types. The first type is of FDI takes place when the various factors of production may not be available in the home country of the firm or be more efficient in the host country, thereby encouraging firms to make investments. This is known as Resource seeking FDI. The second type of FDI which can be used as a defensive strategy is Market-seeking FDI. These investments are made either to maintain existing markets or to penetrate into new markets. The third type is Efficiency Seeking FDI, where the firms hope to increase their competency by exploiting the advantages of economies of scale and also common ownership. The firms thus try to achieve the objective of profit maximization. the last type is Strategy -asset seeking FDI, which is a common tactic used by firms to stop their competitors from acquiring resources. Thus these are the various types of FDI. IMPACT OF FDI ON HOST ECONOMY There are two approaches in economic theory which contribute to studying the effects of Foreign Direct Investment on host countries. One is the standard theory of international trade by Macdougall (1960). This theory is a â€Å"partial equilibrium comparative-static approach intended to examine how marginal increments in investment from abroad are distributed† (Blomstrom, 1997, p.1). The main assumption of this model is that there is an increase in the marginal productivity of labour and a decrease in the marginal productivity of capital. The other theory was proposed by Hymmer (1960) and is called the theory of industrial organisation. The main question of the theory is why firms make investments in other countries in order to manufacture the similar goods they manufacture at home. The answer to this question has been rightly devised by Kindleberger, 1969, p.13), who says, â€Å"for direct investment to thrive there must be some imperfection in markets for goods or factors, including among the latter technology, or some interference in competition by government or by firms, which separates markets†. Thus firms of home countries must have some asset which is going to be lucrative for its associate in the home country (Blomstrom, 1997). Foreign Direct Investment has both positive and negative effects on the host economy. POSITIVE EFFECTS OF FDI ON HOST ECONOMY FDIs have a number of positive impacts on the host country. It encourages economic development by increasing the productivity and exports of the host countries. There are four channels which help in increasing the productivity of host country, namely imitation, skill acquisition, competition and exports (Gorg Greenaway, 2004). The local firms in the host countries benefit by the indirect technology transfer that takes place between the MNC and the domestic companies. Local firms can compete more successfully in the export markets by copying the superior technology or management techniques used by the multinationals (Blomstrom, 1991). Domestic firms become more exposed to the foreign markets and subsequently their knowledge of the international markets increases. The Managers and other qualified employees of the domestic firms acquire the superior managerial and technical skills, which increases their efficiency. Multinationals increase the existing market competition, instigating the local firms to become more efficient by investing in physical or human capital. They help to increase industrial efficiency and improve resource allocation in host countries by entering markets which had many entry barriers. Thus by entering these monopolistic markets they increase competition and force the local firms to become more proficient. This is how, domestic firms are provoked by multinationals and other overseas firms to improve their performance and productivity. Multinationals also influence the local suppliers of intermediate products to become more efficient with delivery speed, quality and reliability of the products so as to meet the high standards of the overseas company. It is seen that FDI has a positive impact on labour market. If the productivity of domestic firms increases by copying the multinationals production style which is based on increased labour productivity, then the domestic firms will not hesitate from paying higher wages to the labour (Lipsey Sjoholm, 2010). Multinationals also increase the standard of the host countrys labour market by providing the labourers with training and making them qualified enough to handle complicated machinery and increasing their productivity. Lastly FDI affects the economy of the host country positively by increasing their revenues in the form of taxes, strengthening the exchange rate of the country and instigating the government to make policies which would attract more MNCs towards it. NEGATIVE IMPACT OF FDI ON HOST ECONOMY As seen above FDI has a number of positive effects on the host economy but these effects do not come free of cost. FDI brings along with it a number of negative effects which prove harmful to the country in various ways. Extend of the negative effects of FDI depends on the characteristics of the multinational companies, the host country and the policies of the host country. Some of the negative effects have been highlighted below: ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION With increasing competition all over the world, companies are shifting their production base to developing countries where they can carry out the production of goods that are pollutant to the environment. These countries have flexible environmental regulations and are less stringent with their enforcements. Thus by carrying out production in such countries they are able to get a competitive edge over companies which carry out production elsewhere. Lowered trade obstacles are leading to a shift of polluting industries from countries with austere environmental regulations to countries with moderate environmental regulations. This leads to an increase in pollution in countries with lenient environmental policies because they refuse to tighten them in order to gain a stronger position over others in international trade. Trade may modify the environmental outcomes through a number of different channels. The scale effect is one such channel that has harmful implications to the environment. This is because when multinationals set up manufacturing facilities or outsource these to other local businesses, it leads to an increase in output which in turn leads to an increase in pollution (Liang, 2006). MARKET STRUCTURE FDI has a negative impact on the market structure as well. As the multinationals enter the market, it leads to the increase of concentration levels within the economy which in turn hampers market control. Therefore risk is prevalent. FDIs tend to assemble in exceedingly concentrated industries. The relationship between presence of foreign organisations in the host countries and the concentration within the economy is indebted to the nature of multinational ownership benefits rather than to anti-competitive activities. In small economies, proficient exploitation of modern advanced technology leads to concentrated market structures. If such economies have lenient trade administration then the risk of anti-competitive activities is diminished to a great extent (Lall, 2000). However it is evident that successful competition strategies are very important as multinationals have the capability to simply control an industry in a host economy. TECHNOLOGY FDIs open the doors for the host country to access new technology but this technology is controlled and possessed only by the MNEs. MNCs generally invest in capital-intensive technologies and have strict proprietary rights which prevent its spill over to local firms. The technology bought in by the MNC may not be favourable to conditions of the host country. For example if the host country is a labour-intensive country and the technology used by the multinational is capital-intensive then gradually it will have a negative effect on the host economy. Once the domestic firms start imitating the foreign firm and start using the same technology used by them, labourers will lose out on their jobs. Thus this would lead to unemployment problems which will negatively affect the economy of the host country. A country attracts FDI so that the national economy grows by creating new job opportunities but in this case it would work in the opposite direction. Pollution-intensive technology may also be exported from countries where they are banned. COMPETITION FDIs have an adverse affect on competition and hamper the prevailing market equilibrium. In developing countries, the domestic firms may not be able to cope up with the competition put up by the MNCs. Thus they would lose out on business. Some multinationals acquire monopoly status in highly profitable sectors. With their monopolistic power they wipe out all competitors from the market. New enterprises are not willing to enter these markets because of the huge capital and risks involved. Thus these multinationals are able to demand unreasonable prices form the customers, leaving them with no other choice but to pay excessively higher charges due to the limited choices available. These monopolistic companies do not even invest in new technologies to bring down their costs since they are already enjoying the luxury of irrational prices. PRODUCTIVITY Atiken and Harrison (1999) and Konings (2001), have suggested that MNCs decrease the productivity of local organisations through competition effects. MNCs are able to carry out productions at lower costs since they bring along some proprietary knowledge which is firm specific. In addition they have superior managerial and marketing skills, reduced production costs, bulk purchases, etc which helps them reduce their marginal costs. Therefore, the demand for goods produced by MNCs increases, which in turn reduces the demand for locally produced goods. This ultimately leads to a decrease in domestic production increasing the average costs. With the establishment of multinationals, the demand for foreign inputs increases in comparison to local inputs which hinder the domestic firm from producing to its optimum capacity. Thus the domestic firms are not able to take advantage of economies of scale. Domestic firms may not be quick enough to grasp knowledge from the foreign firms, losing out on competition in the short run (Gorg Greenaway, 2004). MNCs usually offer higher wages to domestic workers, thereby attracting all the skilled ones, leaving behind only the semi or unskilled labour for the local firms. It is a common trend amongst MNCs to offer higher wages in comparison to the domestic firms in developed as well as developing countries. LABOURERS The workers in the host countries may not be comfortable with some of the foreign policies adopted by MNCs. One of the most attractive features for FDI in a host country is cheap labour. They take advantage of the cheap labour by producing labour intensive goods and thereby decreasing their costs of goods. With the establishment of labour intensive technology by MNCs, a country becomes highly dependent on them for its employment. Now multinationals are always trying to reduce their costs, so if they are able to find places with cheaper labour, they shift their base to that country. Thus there is always a fear of unemployment due to FDI withdrawal. GOVERNMENT POLICIES The government of the host country may face problems due to the establishment of FDIs. The government has less control over the operations of the foreign company that is functioning as the wholly owned subsidiary of an overseas company. Taking advantage of this, the MNC may not abide by the economic policies of the host country. They hamper the various environmental, governance and social regulations laid down by the government of the host country. With FDI there is risk that confidential information of the host country could be leaked out to rest of the world. It has been seen that due to FDIs the defence of a country has witnessed various risks. It is also noticed that multinationals are very reluctant to pay taxes of the host country. MNCs exploit the tax structure of the country by taking advantage of the lenient tax regulations of the host country and lack of enforcement by the government (Velde, 2001). Another huge problem faced by host countries is that of transfer pricing which is a financial accounting device used by MNCs to maximise profits. Transfer pricing refers to the price charged by one associate of a company to another associate of the same company. Transfer pricing relates to all transactions that take place within a company including raw materials, management fees, royalties, finished products, etc. Transfer pricing is an illegal way of making huge profits for the MNCs. Transfer prices can be fabricated, thus different from the price that unrelated firms would have to pay. Thus by using transfer prices as a weapon, MNCs manipulate their books of entry and acquire huge amounts of profits without an actual change in their physical capital. Profit transferring is a way of avoiding or saving taxes by MNCs through illegal ways. If the MNCs pay lesser taxes in the home country of their foreign affiliates in comparison to their host countries, then in order to increase profits, MNCs manipulate their book of accounts. They will inflate their expenditure on import of materials from their foreign partners or subsidiaries, this will show higher profits in the books of accounts of the foreign affiliates and less profit in the MNCs account in the host country. Thus evading taxes and at the same time they will artificially transfer profits to the home country. CROWDING OUT OF DOMESTIC INVESTMENTS FDI crowds out domestic investments by creating a monopolistic environment. This can be explained in two ways. Firstly MNCs raise funds locally in the domestic market, increasing the demand for money and in turn increasing the interest rates, which crowds out domestic investments. Secondly when MNCs enter a new country, they bring with them huge investments which increases the overall money flow of the country. This increases the aggregate demand, leading to an increase in prices, i.e. inflation, which will then increase expenses, reduce savings and ultimately force people to borrow money, leading to higher interest rates. Thus is this way the local investments are crowded out (Borensztein et al., 1997). Foreign firms have better advertising powers, ability to dominate the market and predatory pricing to prevent entry. INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRAINTS Multinationals come in the way of a countrys infrastructure development. It is seen that multinationals are always attracted towards the more favourable regions of a country. Now with the establishment of multinationals in these regions, more efforts are put towards the betterment of these regions. As a result the rural and poor regions are ignored and they continue to remain underdeveloped. COUNTRYS TRADE BALANCE FDI has an adverse effect on the Balance of Payment of the host country (De Mellow, 1997). Financial inflows raise the exchange rates, making it unfavourable for exports. When MNCs enter a country, they bring along foreign exchange and thus increase their supply, which strengthens the host-country currency, making the domestic products more expensive in the international markets, and as a result of this the total exports of the host country reduces. Thus there is a decrease in the net exports (Total Exports- Total Imports) of the country. Hence the BOP may become unfavourable. The capital and current account are also hampered. When the MNC enters the host country, it might have previous raw material suppliers, or intermediary product suppliers, from whom it continues to buy its secondary material; this would lead to an increase in the import of the country making the BOP unfavourable. Secondly MNCs transfer their profits, management fees, royalty fees, etc back to their home country, hampering the capital account of the country. ECONOMY Multinationals usually tend to exist in close proximity to each other. It is seen that MNCs have a tendency to concentrate in the certain sectors taking advantage of the location, labour and resources. Thus the economy becomes extremely reliant on the MNC. A withdrawal of MNC from such areas could seriously hamper the economy and this is seen as a very severe problem in the backward areas. RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSION This research paper was carried out to analyse the negative effects of FDI on the host economy and we have come to a conclusion that even though FDI helps in the development and growth of various countries all over the world, these benefits do not come free of charge. FDI can have several harmful effects on the host country. To overcome these harmful effects some recommendations gave been proposed To overcome the negative impact of environmental hazards, the host countries can use a variety of channels. One such channel is the technique effect where the local firms of the host country could learn from MNEs who often use superior technology or these firms may also exit from the market if the foreign firms seize the market share as well as labour supply. Therefore directness to trade will help in improving the quality of the environment. Another channel is the income effect whereby the local electorate may demand better environment standards as well as more strict regulations which are more enforceable by the government when the multinationals increase the income in the economy by creating jobs and thus increasing employment (Liang,2006). To overcome the competitive barriers in developing countries, the domestic firms could use various protective corporate agreements. They could either combine local firms or begin cooperative ventures with the foreign firms. Government of the host company should become more stringent with their policies. They should adopt policies which encourage proper social and environmental principles by the foreign companies. Multinationals should be penalised if they do not adhere by the policies of the country Measures should be taken to curb consumer and labour exploitation and at the same time competition should be created in the labour and product market, removing all entry barriers from the domestic markets. Encourage education, train labourers and promote infrastructure to increase the local capacity to absorb and disseminate the superior new traditions pioneered by overseas companies. By taking a few precautionary measures and by amending the government policies, the harmful effects of FDI can be avoided. Thus, these policies should be such that they are able to maximise the benefits of FDI and curtail their negative effects. REFERENCES Blomstrom, M. (1991). Host Country Benefits Of Foreign Investment. NBR Working Paper 3615, pp 1-33. Blomstrom, M. and Kokko, A. (1997). The Impact Of Foreign Investment On Host Countries: A Review Of The Empirical Evidence. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 1745, pp 1-42. Blomstrom, M. and Kokko, A. (1998). Multinational Corporations And Spillovers. Journal Of Economic Surveys 12(2), pp 1-31. Blonigen, B. (2006). Foreign Direct Investment Behavior of Multinational Corporations. NBER Reporter: Research Summary. Borensztein E., Gregorio De J. And Lee J-W (1997). How does Foreign Direct Investment affect economic growth? Journal of international Economics 45(1998), pp 115-135 Daniels, J.D., Radebaugh, L.H. and Sullivan, D.P. (2004). International Business Environments And Operations. 10th ed. Delhi: Pearson Prentice Hall. De Mello L.R. (1997). Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries and Growth: A Selection Survey. The Journal of Development Studies 34(1), pp 1-34. Froot, K. (1993). Foreign Direct Investment. London: The University of Chicago Press Ltd. Gorg, H. and Greenaway, D. (2004). Much ado About Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit From Foreign Direct Investment? The World Research Observer 19(2), pp 171-197. Graham,J.P. and Spaulding, R.B. (2005). Understanding Foreign Direct Investment. Citibank international portal. Lall, S. (2000). FDI and Development: Research Issues In The Emerging Context. Policy Discussion Paper 20, pp 1-27. Letto-Gillies, G. (2005). Transnational Corporations and International Production concepts, theories and effects, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing House Limited. Liang, F.H. (2006). Does Foreign Direct Investment Harm the Host Countrys Environment? Evidence from China. pp 1-24. Lipsey, R.E. (2002). Home And Host Country Effects Of FDI. NBR Working Paper Series 9293, pp 1-76. Lipsey, R.E. and Sjoholm, F. (n.d.) The Impact Of Inward FDI On Host Countries: Why Such Different Answers? Does FDI Promote Development pp 23-43. Velde D.W. (2001). Policies Towards Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries: Emerging Best-practices and Outstanding Issues. Overseas Development Institute, London.

Messages of Strength and Pride in Three Poems

Poems from the Harlem Renaissance provide vibrance and energy for the reader as they enliven a culture and tradition never before seen in the United States.   The poems â€Å"Chicago,’ by Carl Sandburg, â€Å"The Harlem Dancer,† by Claude McKay, and â€Å"Mother to Son,† by Langston Hughes, all embody this strong culture through vivid images an lingering metaphors.   While they show the pride and substance of their subjects, the poems also hint at a bit of vulnerability as well.   Therefore, these three poems metaphorically illicit outward shows of strength and pride which hide pain, toil and even resentment underneath.Strength is an attribute of a person who has toiled and prevailed despite the overwhelming odds against him.   In the first half of the poem, â€Å"Chicago,† the first person speaker is addressing the city through a series of metaphors.   First, he addresses him as a serious of occupations which all require great physical strength but which do not have an association with upper class wealth or power:HOG Butcher for the World,  Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,  Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler (Sandburg, lines. 1-3).  These images create a masculine, hulking mood for the reader.   It is evident that life in this city requires brawn and even a cunning mind. The speaker notes the physical attributes of the city, which can be compared to a man:   Stormy, husky, brawling,  City of the Big Shoulders† (Sandburg, lines. 4-5).The city is personified as a hard-working and proud blue collar worker who may have to resort to underhanded dealings in order to survive.However, as the poem progresses, the metaphors change.   The speaker begins with a parallel series of descriptions – â€Å"wicked,† â€Å"crooked,† and â€Å"brutal,† to characterize the city along with a justification for each.   He notes the city is â€Å"sneering† but with  lifted head singing  so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning† (Sandburg, lines. 18-19).The suggestion is that the city demands more than hard work; it sometimes takes pain and trickery from its inhabitants.   However, the messages notes that sometimes this behavior is necessary for survival, and that the city has no moral problem with crime, corruption and manipulation.Finally, the poem shifts to the metaphor not of a man at all, but a beast.   This creature is Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning  as a savage pitted against the wilderness† (Sandburg lines. 23-24).Now the city is not human, but savage and untamed, reflecting the problems it presents for the survival of its dwellers.   They must endure, the smoke, the dust, the teeth and the burden of the city and somehow manage to laugh,  even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has  never lost a battle† (Sandburg, lns. 34-35).The bottom line for this poem is pride. Sometimes the people had to be dishonest and brutal, but they have an immense pride in getting to where they are.   The personified images of the city portray all of these emotions for the reader.â€Å"The Harlem Dancer,† by Claude McKay, focuses on the single image and experience of a boy watching a girl dance.   While the image is softer, it can correlate with the message from â€Å"Chicago.†Ã‚   Of course, the undertone is that these dancing girls are prostitutes, tempting the boys to wrongdoing, but that is part of the magic of the experience for these Harlem youth.   Despite her degrading occupation, the dancer of note is elevated to idealistic proportions in the eyes of the speaker.First, she is half-clothed, and swaying, which reminds the young man, oddly, of a palm tree.   He notes,  To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm  Grown lovelier for passing through a storm   (McKay, lines. 7-8).With this description, the reader understands that even the boy recog nizes that this girl does not belong in Harlem.   After all, no palm trees grow anywhere near Harlem; they are products of more tropical, exotic climates, as is the dancer.   He also insinuates that she has endured hardships herself, the storm he notes, and finds her more attractive for having survived those hardships.Next, the speaker notes the melodic, otherworldly quality of her voice.   He says,  Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes  Blown by black players upon a picnic day (McKay, lines, 3-4).  he airiness of her voice and their comparison to prayers places the girl in an almost angelic realm, oddly juxtaposed to her actual position as a prostitute. This angelic nature is further emphasized by her â€Å"gauzy† dress, her graceful body, and her â€Å"shiny curls.†Ã‚   To the speaker, she is perfection, something he has never before experienced.However, underneath the beautiful figure of the dancing girl is something else, something that the bo y eventually notices.   She is not the strong and serene figure he initially perceives.   She is, in his words, not there.   He notesBut, looking at her falsely-smiling faceI knew her self was not in that strange place (McKay, lines 13-14).The speaker comes to realize that she is not truly the confident and strong person that he initially perceived her to be.   In order to get through her day, she has to somehow transport herself elsewhere, and he has bought into it for a while.   She is not ideal or perfect but has had her own shares of struggles and deceptions.The poem â€Å"Mother to Son,† by Langston Hughes, also illuminates the theme that life is a struggle, but one that should make a person proud.   The speaker is an African-American mother who is attempting to relate a life lesson to her son.   She uses a metaphor of a crystal staircase to try to emphasize the hardships she has endured in getting to the place she is now.   The clever analogy notes that a crystal staircase would be smooth and easy to climb, unlike the experience the mother relays:Well, son, I'll tell you:  Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.  It's had tacks in it,  And splinters,  And boards torn up,  And places with no carpet on the floor —  Bare. (Hugues, lines 1-7)Her life journey was painful and filled with obstacles, and she wants her son to realize this so that he will be ready for his own obstacles and hardships in life.   Ã‚  She does not want him to grow up expecting to have things handed to him, but to expect to have to work hard for the things he wants.Another message that she wants to convey to her son is that he should never give up despite these hardships.   She wants to encourage him:So boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps ‘Cause you finds it's kinder hard (Hughes, lines 14-16).In addition to warning him about the condition of the stairs and the difficulty of traversing them, the mother is also w arning her son of the dangers.   She notes that sometimes the stairs are dark, and she warns him against falling.   Of course, the grand metaphor for life is apparent.   Life is sometimes dark, full of pitfalls, and daunting, but she has continued the journey and is endeavoring to make her son do the same.She is not making the journey sound easy; clearly, they were not the privileged individuals, but she is attempting to instill endurance through her message.   After all, she is still climbing the stairs, and if she can do it, so can he.All three of these poems address issues of life and perseverance.   None of the lives described seem easy.   Life in â€Å"Chicago† is compared ultimately to a beast that laughs and sneers.   Life as   Ã¢â‚¬Å"TheHarlem Dancer† is empty for her, as she continually desires to be somewhere else.   Life on the broken staircase is uncertain and treacherous.   However, all three scenarios represent the continual toil of lif e, and the pride that these individuals have.   They may not have riches, easy jobs, or crystals stairs, but they have their work ethic and their sense of self-worth, and that is all that matters.WORKS CITEDMcKay, Claude.   â€Å"The Harlem Dancer.† Retrieved 9 April 2007 fromhttp://www.poetry-archive.com/m/the_harlem_dancer.htmlSandburg, Carl.   â€Å"Chicago.† Retrieved 9 April 2007 from http://carl-sandburg.com/chicago.htm